Telescopic aerial for vehicles, in particular for motorcars



April 6, 1954 E. LANDENBERGER "ET AL 2,674,416

' ,TELESCOPIC AERIAL FOR VEHICLES, IN

PARTICULAR F OR MOTORCARS Filed March 27, 1951 &' EZL aenzerzger' 0. EzerZe 5:3

Patented Apr. 6, i954 TELESCOPIC AERIAL FOR VEHICLES, IN PARTICULAR FOR MOTORCARS Eugen Landenberger, Saint Gallen, Switzerland, and Othmar Eberle, Triesen, Liechtenstein Application March 27, 1951, Serial No. 217,705

4 Claims.

Telescopic aerial rods, in particular for motor cars, are usually pushed together again when the vehicle is not in use, or when the driver leaves the vehicle, e. g. when the vehicle is parked, in order to reduce the danger of damaging the aerial, and also to protect it against the Weather.

In most cases it is not possible to operate the aerial when the vehicle is in motion, or at least it is unpleasant work in bad weather.

The present invention concerns a telescopic aerial rod for vehicles, in particular for motor cars. According to this invention, one of the moving parts of the rod is connected mechanically to an operating device which is located at some distance away from the aerial, so that the sections of the rod can be pushed in or pulled out by remote control. It is convenient to connect the inner section of the pushed-in rod to one end of the internal wire of a Bowden cable, the other end of the cable wire being connected to a spool which is a part of the operating device, and the spool is fixed so that it can be reached from the drivers seat in the vehicle.

The operating device could be hand-operated or driven by an electric motor.

The drawing shows a possible construction of the object of this invention.

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of the telescopic aerial rod,

Fig. 2 shows the telescopic aerial rod in section and the operating device therefor partly in elevation and partly in section,

Fig. 3 is a view of the operating device, partly in section,

Fig. i is a side elevational view of the operating device for the telescopic aerial rod with the thumb wheel removed.

The telescopic aerial rod shown in the drawing has an external tube I, its top end I is of smaller diameter than the remainder of the tube, and its lower end is provided with a reinforcing cap 2 and a flanged foot 3 to fix the aerial to the vehicle. In side tube I slides a narrower tube which at its upper portion 4' again is reduced in diameter and has at its lower end a reinforcement piece 5 Tube 4 is guided in tube I by the reduced portion I and by the reinforcing piece 5. The reduced portion I also prevents water from getting into the aerial. Tube d can be pulled out until reinforcement 5 knocks against the reduced portion I. A rod 6 slides in tube i and carries at its lower end a reinforcement '5. Rod 6 is guided by reinforcement I and by the reduced portion 4', where the reduced portion 4 prevents the entry of water into the tubes, because it makes a tight sliding fit with rod '6. At the lower end of the reinforcing cap 2 of the tube Ithe internal diameter of the reinforcing cap 2 is here reduced-one end of the Bowden cable 8 is fixed by means of a set screw 9. The corresponding end of the Bowden cable wire It is fixed to the lower end of rod 6 by hooking the hook-shaped end II of the wire I9 into an eyelet I 2 at the lower end of rod 6. The other end of the wire of the Bowden cable 8 leads to a spool I3 and is fixed to an inset ring It with a groove I5. Groove I5 is a coiling groove. The spool has a fixed central shaft I! which enables it to be rotated inside bearing tube It, which is fixed to a guide plate I8. Shaft I1 is surrounded by the bearing tube, and the end projecting from the tube is threaded. Two nuts 2| screwed on the shaft at this end ensure the correct distance of spool I3 from the guide plate I8. 22 is a thumb wheel screwed on the threaded portion 29 and fixed by a set screw 23; which serves to rotate spool 53. 24 is a gripping plate, next to the guide plate it, it has a recess 25 to admit the Bowden cable 8 and cable clip 26. Cable clip 26 is fixed by means of a screw 2? to the guide plate l8 and is used to fix the end of Bowden cable 8 which is taken through an oblique drilled hole 23 in guide plate I8. The operating device is mounted to the dash board of the vehicle. The gripping plate 26 rests against the back of the dash board 29. The bearing tube I9 projects through the dash board 29 with the drilled hole 30, so that the dash board is firmly gripped between the nut 3!, with a washer 32, and the guide plate It, with the gripping plate 2 at the back of the dash board. On that face of guide plate I8 which is adjacent to spool I 3 a guide ring 33 is fixed in a suitable groove and covers the coiling groove I 5 of spool I3, so that the coils of the Bowden cable wire cannot fall out, see Fig. 3. Ring 33 has a drilled hole 34 concentric with the oblique drilled hole 28, this hole 28 guides cable wire Ill to the coiling groove l5 of the spool.

By rotating thumb wheel 22 in one direction, the wire is coiled off and the aerial is pushed out. By turning it in the opposite direction, the aerial is pulled in again.

Instead of using a thumb wheel, the operating device can be driven by an electric motor, which is switched on or off by means of a switch, and drives the spool shaft through worm gearing, and which is switched off automatically when the aerial is pushed out or pulled in.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to a now preferred example and embodiment of the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the invention, that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and it is intended, therefore, to cover all such changes and modifications in the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a reel for anchoring one end of a Bowden cable and for winding thereon the wire of the Bowden cable used for extension and retraction of a telescopic aerial, said reel comprising a stationary guide plate and a rotatable spool arranged face to face and in spaced relation, an operating shaft axially journaled in the guide plate and fixed to the spool, a sleeve surrounding the shaft extending intothe guide plate and acting to space the guide plate and spool from each other, a wire-receiving circular groove in the face of the spool facing the guide plate,.a Bowden cable having one end anchored to the outer face of the guide plate and the wire of the Bowden cable passing transversely through the guide plate for winding reception in the groove of the rotatable spool and a relatively deep circular channel member in said groove for the reception of said wire.

2. A reel as in claim 1, wherein a guide ring is fixed to the guide plate and overlies the wirereceiving groove in the spool to retain the wound wire in the groove and said ring having an opening therein for the passage of said wire.

3. In a reel for anchoring one end of a Bowden cable and for winding thereon the wire of the Bowden cable used for extension and retraction of a telescopic aerial, said reel comprising a stationary guide plate and a rotatable spool arranged face to face and in spaced relation, an operating shaft axially journaled in the guide plate and fixed to the spool, a sleeve surrounding the shaft extending into the guide plate and acting to space the guide plate and spool from each other, a. wire-receiving circular groove in the face of the spool facing the guide plate, a Bowden cable having one end anchored to the outer face of the guide plate and the wire of the Bowden cable passing transversely through the guide plate for winding reception in the groove of the rotatable spool, the stationary guide plate having a slot extending therethrough for the passage of the wire into the groove in the spool and a relatively deep circular channel member in said groove for the reception of said wire.

4. A reel as in claim 1, wherein a guide ring is fixed to the guide plate and overlies the wirereceiving groove in the spool tov retain the wound wire inthe groove, and said ring having an opening therein for the passage of said wire the stationary guide plate having a diagonal slot extending therethrough for the passage of the wire into the groove in the spool.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,071,383 Barrett Feb. 23, 1937 2,274,882 Brach Mar. 3, 1942 2,344,490 Brach Mar. 21, 1944 2,350,866 Barth June 6, 1944 2,435,086 Lack Jan. 27, 1948 2,623,175 Finke Dec. 23, 1952 

